SportsDirect Inc. Recap: Giants 8, Padres 4 Giants 8, Padres 4: Marco Scutaro had three hits and drove in three runs as host San Francisco clinched its second National League West crown in three years. Madison Bumgarner (16-10) gave up three runs - two earned - over 5 2/3 innings for the Giants, who have won six straight games and 18 of their last 24. San Francisco has won the NL West eight times since divisional play began in 1969. Scutaro put the Giants ahead 4-1 in the fourth with a...

Right-hander Matt Morris is near to agreeing on a three-year deal worth a guaranteed $27 million with the San Francisco Giants, ESPN.com reported Sunday. The Cardinals offered the free agent a two-year deal worth about $13 million and added a club option for a third year that would have pushed the offer to $20 million, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. But Morris told the newspaper he figured he wasn't the Cardinals' first choice after hearing how fervently the club had...

Rich Aurilia went 3 for 4, including a two-run homer, and Kirk Rueter (6-4) pitched six shutout innings for host San Francisco. Inside pitch: The Giants snapped a three-game skid and beat their archrivals for the first time at Pacific Bell Park in five tries.

The Houston Astros agreed to terms Wednesday with first-round draft pick Brian Bogusevic, a 21-year-old left-hander from Chicago's De La Salle and Tulane. The 6-foot-3-inch Bogusevic, taken 24th overall, will begin his pro career with Class-A Tri-City. He was 13-3 with a 3.25 ERA this season for Tulane. "(The negotiations) didn't take long at all when you consider he was involved in the College World Series almost all the way," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. "They were very...

Rookie Kirk Rueter pitched a five-hitter and drove in two runs with his first major-league hit. Rueter (2-0) walked one and struck out one in his first complete game. It was the Expos' third win in four games and the Braves' third loss in their last four.

With Kent Mercker in Cincinnati, Glendon Rusch a candidate to start and Mike Remlinger closing in on his 39th birthday, the Cubs need at least one left-handed reliever. None of the three they trotted out Sunday to face the Giants made much of a case. Jimmy Anderson, Stephen Randolph and Will Ohman combined to give up seven runs and 11 hits in five innings of a 10-1 drubbing by San Francisco, the Cubs' first loss of the spring. The Giants slugged two homers and collected 17 hits.

Rookie Kirk Rueter remained unbeaten by allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings and the Expos won for the 12th time in their last 13 games. The Expos swept the Rockies for the second time in two weeks and moved within 6 1/2 games of the NL East-leading Phillies. Rueter (7-0) has won his last five starts and had a string of 14 consecutive scoreless innings end on Roberto Mejia's RBI double in the seventh. Larry Walker's 19th homer, a two-run shot, capped a three-run first against Armando Reynoso (9-10)

Barry Bonds is driven by October, not just Henry Aaron. With Bonds poised one swing away from his 700th home run, it is the San Francisco Giants' tenuous hold on the National League's wild-card spot into the playoffs that has his attention. Seventeen games remain for the Giants, and they are the team the Cubs, Houston Astros, Florida Marlins and San Diego Padres are trying to catch. Bonds, it seems, gladly would go homerless in this three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers if he...

Darrin Fletcher and David Segui each hit grand slams Sunday and the Montreal Expos set a team record for runs in a game with a 21-9 victory over the Colorado Rockies in Denver. F.P. Santangelo added career bests with four hits and five RBIs. Segui finished with a career-best six RBIs and Fletcher's five matched his personal high. The Expos, who had scored 19 runs six times in their 28-year history, broke an 11-inning scoreless streak when they sent 11 hitters to the plate in a...

Big stick Vinny Castilla, Rockies The veteran third baseman is making the most of his return to Colorado. He went 3-for-5 with a walkoff home run and 3 RBIs Monday. His 36 RBIs are tied for second in all of baseball. Leaky pen Toronto's bullpen struggles continue after allowing the Twins to blow Monday's game open with four runs in the ninth inning. The team's relievers have an ERA of 4.17 and have converted just five saves--one fewer than White Sox...

Right-hander Matt Morris is near to agreeing on a three-year deal worth a guaranteed $27 million with the San Francisco Giants, ESPN.com reported Sunday. The Cardinals offered the free agent a two-year deal worth about $13 million and added a club option for a third year that would have pushed the offer to $20 million, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. But Morris told the newspaper he figured he wasn't the Cardinals' first choice after hearing how fervently the club had...

Jeffrey Hammonds hit a grand slam and the San Francisco Giants beat the Cubs 9-3 Thursday in a cold and rainy exhibition opener. Barry Bonds, who was booed when he came to the plate, got just one at-bat on a 46-degree day and bounced out to the pitcher in the first. Carlos Zambrano issued a bases-loaded walk in the fourth as San Francisco went ahead 4-1. Hammonds connected in the seventh inning off Francis Beltran to give the Giants a seven-run lead. The Cubs' Corey Patterson, making a...

Jeffrey Hammonds hit a grand slam and the San Francisco Giants beat the Cubs 9-3 Thursday in a cold and rainy exhibition opener. Barry Bonds, who was booed when he came to the plate, got just one at-bat on a 46-degree day and bounced out to the pitcher in the first. Carlos Zambrano issued a bases-loaded walk in the fourth as San Francisco went ahead 4-1. Hammonds connected in the seventh inning off Francis Beltran to give the Giants a seven-run lead. The Cubs' Corey Patterson, making a...

Pittsburgh reliever Mike Williams, who started his major-league career with Philadelphia, was traded back to the Phillies on Sunday for a prospect, the second time the pitcher has been dealt by the Pirates in three seasons. Williams, who made the National League All-Star team despite an ERA of 6.27, has converted 25-of-30 save opportunities as Pittsburgh's closer. He is expected to be the setup man for the Phillies. "I'm not disappointed at all," said Williams, who turns 35 on July...